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When John Timpson bought his wife Alex a racehorse in 2002 to fulfil a long-held dream of hers, little did he know this was to be the start of a thrilling, frustrating and expensive adventure culminating in 20 racehorses and numerous visits to betting shops and top racecourses to see their horses run.
“It is well documented that we have turned our business around from rock bottom to a multi-million pound enterprise but perhaps not so generally realised that Alex was genuinely at the heart of my success,” says John. “So, when we found ourselves in a position to afford it, I wanted to make her dream come true: she wanted to own racehorses.”
Underlying their experiences with the racing world, John and Alex’s shared joie de vivre took a tragic turn when Alex was diagnosed with cancer. Throughout a rigorous course of treatments she continued to follow her horses with John by her side, until her untimely death in January 2016.
Timpson discusses his life as a ‘racehorse owner’s husband’ detailing the fun and financial situations he discovered after fuelling Alex’s passion for horseracing, including a unique exposé of the costs of racehorse ownership.
The book concludes with John’s heartfelt tribute to his wife and soul mate. “Finishing this book gave me a chance to reflect on how much pleasure Alex got from being an owner and the joint pleasure that racing gave to us in the last years of her life.
“Lots of racing connections will miss Alex and I will miss her most of all. But I’m the really lucky one, I have spent two thirds of my 73 years with Alex and am therefore the person who benefitted most from her love of life. When we got married I could never have guessed that it would involve 90 foster children and 20 racehorses. Life with Alex was never dull.”
John Timpson CBE is one of the UK’s most successful businessmen. He is Chairman of the eponymous high street cobblers, key cutters, engravers and watch repairers, with more than 1,400 branches throughout the UK and Ireland. Timpson also writes a column in the Daily Telegraph where he provides straight-talking, no-nonsense business advice.
Under Orders, The Diary of a Racehorse Owner’s Husband is published by Icon Books and costs £14.99. For each copy sold through http://UnderOrders.co.uk John will donate £4 to the Injured Jockeys Fund.
To celebrate the launch of his book John is offering FIVE SIGNED COPIES for five lucky winners. To enter the prize draw simply fill in your details below:
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Prize Draw closes 30th November 2016.
Please see Competition Terms & Conditions.
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Karen can usually be found glued to her computer or at the stables. Having edited several national magazines she co-founded Eclipse Magazine in 2008 after realising that many of her friends were nervous about going racing due to lack of information – what to wear, how to bet etc.
She absolutely loves her job (how many people can say that?!) and is truly grateful to all supporters of and contributors to Eclipse Magazine.
If you are reading this she would like to say THANK YOU! (And please spread the word about Eclipse…!!)